The Fourth Night
by burnedupasun
Summary: Daryl's cell was right underneath hers, and he could hear everything. Including Beth Greene masturbating. After three nights of listening to her give up in frustration, could anyone blame him for wanting to give her a helping hand?
1. Chapter 1

Daryl's cell was right underneath hers, so really he couldn't help hearing everything that went on up there. Pacing, humming, singing, Judith's fussing and cries... He'd gotten used to all of it. In fact, the singing and the humming tended to help him fall asleep every night, though he might never have admitted it out loud. He had a reputation after all, and it wasn't as the kind of guy that fell asleep to a young girl's soft, sweet singing.

The last few nights had been very different, and they were doing the exact opposite of helping him fall asleep. After all, how could _anyone_ expect to fall asleep to the sounds of Beth Greene doing what he could only guess was masturbating? He wasn't an idiot, after all, nor was he at all inexperienced (thanks mostly to Merle's insistence at pushing girls at him). He knew what the sounds she was making were. It would start with little pants and gasps, and then turn to soft little moans that drifted down from the vent in her cell to his, impossible to ignore.

Four nights in a row now. The first three nights he'd listened as she'd work herself up to those breathy moans, and each time he'd find himself tensing with her, anticipating, his cock straining against his jeans... only to hear her break off in a groan instead of reaching what she was working for. Though he couldn't see her, he could imagine from the muffled frustrated noises she was making that she'd been pressing her face to her pillow in annoyance at the end.

Last night, right after she'd broken off again without coming, he was pretty sure he'd heard her start to cry. _That_ upset him, and it wasn't just because crying women confused the fuck out of him and left him completely unsure of how the hell to handle them. It was that even knowing she was crying seemed to make a part of him _want_ to find a way to handle it. To fix it, for her.

He'd been laying there, hard in his jeans and wanting to go up there and find a way to stop her from crying. He'd wanted to make her feel better.

He'd wanted to make her feel _better_.

Daryl knew he had no right to want any of those things, and yet now it was the fourth night and he was laying there listening to her working herself up, and knowing what was coming next was driving him crazy. Only this time, with his hard length throbbing in his jeans and the sound of her moaning softly above him, he gave in.

Before he could stop himself he climbed to his feet, opened the door to his cell, and walked out. Halfway up the stairs he paused, but only long enough to adjust himself in his pants and curse the fact that he couldn't just plug his damn ears and ignore her soft, sweet little moans, or the frustrated sounds he knew would follow. He just couldn't. He'd have to hate himself tomorrow, instead, because right now all he could think about was doing whatever was needed to stop her from crying herself to sleep tonight.

Daryl could just hear her moans edging towards vaguely frustrated as he gently nudged aside the curtain that covered her cell and stepped half inside into the dimly lit cell. His gaze found her immediately, and not just because there was little else in the small space. Because she looked so_good_. She was laying out on the bed in little shorts and a tank top that normally he'd consider incredibly impractical but right now he couldn't bring himself to care about that. Not when she had her hand slipped under those shorts and he could see her hips rocking up faintly as her head tossed and turned, spreading her blonde hair across the pillow.

Her eyes were shut and she hadn't noticed him. As much as a part of him wished he could just stand there watching her touch herself like this, he wasn't that kinda creep. Well he was definitely _some_ kind of creep. He was up here right now after all, wasn't he? Watching a girl who he knew was only barely eighteen touching herself and trying to get off, and standing there wanting to _help_ her like he had any right.

Before he could lose his nerve, Daryl cleared his throat. In an instant she was freezing, her blue eyes big and wide, her mouth opened in a shocked 'O' as she gasped,"Oh my lord. Oh lord. _Daryl_!"

The moment he saw her begin to slip her hand out from her shorts and reach for the blanket to cover herself, Daryl was instinctively crossing the room towards her and shaking his head. "Don't. I mean-" He dropped to his knees next to the bed, knowing he'd seem less threatening if he wasn't hovering over her like that. "I just thought... maybe you could use some help."

"_Help_?" Her voice was strangled, but for just a second he _swore_ he saw something like heat flash through her eyes before it faded. "How- How did you know?"

He looked at her from under a fringe of hair and gave a faint hint of a smirk as he admitted, "Well my cell is right under yours, and the air vents..."

"Oh. Oh _lord_." Her hands came up to cover her face instead. "I am so embarrassed." She peeked out at him from a crack between her fingers and whispered, "How much did you hear tonight?"

"Not just tonight." He figured it was best to be honest, after all, in a situation like this there weren't many options. Scrubbing his hand over his face, he admitted, "The last few nights, I could hear you. I almost came up last night when I heard you... you know." Funny that he was more worried about embarrassing her over crying, than masturbating.

Even in the dim light he could see the flush on her cheeks, but her fingers parted a slight bit more to look at him as she stammered, "I just... I keep trying but I can't seem to..."

"Get off?" He said the words simply in his rough drawl, and he wasn't surprised to see her blush even more at his bluntness. Something about the sight of that rosy color to her skin only made her look more pretty, though. (And fuck if he didn't know that Merle would never let him hear the end of it for thinking Beth was pretty, but he didn't give a fuck right now. He was the one looking down at her right now, barely-clothed, flushed and looking up at him with the faint scent of her lingering in the air, and she was _so_ fucking pretty.)

Drawing in a deep breath at her little nod, he asked in that same low, rough voice, "I meant what I said... about helpin' you. If you want."

It turned out Beth wasn't all complete shyness and naivete. After a moment he saw her hands drop slowly down from her face as her eyes fixed on him in the darkness. Bravely, she asked him, "How? How would you... help me?"

This was it, really. The last point where he could stand up and walk away and not take this step and change things between them. To his surprise he didn't want to take that other option, even if maybe a tiny part of him thought he should. Even if it was the same part of him that whispered that she deserved someone better showing her things like this. Someone sweeter and gentler, someone less rough and dirty and _wrong_.

The thought of anyone else touching her like this made him want to _growl_, and as that unexpected possessive urge rose up in him, he lifted his hand and rested it gently on her leg, feeling her soft warm skin beneath his rough palm. She was like silk beneath his fingers and he had to fight back a shiver of his own as he answered her, "I could show you." He brushed his hand slowly up, stopping only when he reached the hem of her shorts. "I could show you, how to touch yourself. How to get yourself off the way you need to."

Daryl saw Beth lick her lips and give a faint little shiver as she asked, "With... with your hand?"

He slowly nodded. "If you want." His breathing hitched as he ghosted his fingers up over her shorts to the stretchy waistband of them. "Do you trust me, Beth?"

"Yes." She spoke it so easily, without any hesitation, and it actually took _his_ breath away for a moment. He knew on some level that the people in this place trusted him for some unknown reason, but none of them had ever said it to him at all, let alone in a moment so personal and intimate as this.

He couldn't deny her now even if he wanted to. And he really, really didn't want to. Daryl's fingers hooked in the waistband of her shorts and tugged them slowly down. He kept his eyes on her the whole time, wanting to make sure she wasn't going to change her mind, and though she blushed Beth never faltered. Only when he felt the shorts reach her knees did he look down for the first time.

His breath hitched again at the sight of her; that faint thatch of curls between her legs all damp with her juices, revealing the slightest hint of pink folds just begging to be touched. By _him_. Hesitantly, Daryl let his fingers graze up the inside of her thigh, noticing the way her breathing caught in her throat as she watched him.

Pausing just at her upper thigh, he looked up hesitantly and asked, "Okay?"

Her voice was a whisper in the darkness of the cell, but she didn't look away from him as she breathed out, "Yes. Yes... Please, Daryl. Show me?"

The sound of her saying _please_ to him was sexier than he could have imagined. With a turn of his wrist, Daryl pressed his palm flat against her mound and began to rub in slow circles. He could feel how slick and hot she was against his hand and he had to bite down on his lip to hold back a low groan.

Beth wasn't trying quite so hard to hold back her own noises. As soon as he touched her he heard a soft breathy moan spill from her lips and _fuck_if it wasn't a hundred times better than it sounded from downstairs in his cell. He couldn't hold back the faint pleased expression on his face as he continued to rub his palm against her, working her up until she was whimpering and squirming beneath him.

"Please-" She gasped out all breathlessly, "Daryl, I- I need _more_." She said it like she didn't even know what it was she needed, but whatever it was, she _wanted_ it. From _him_, and that was what really hit him.

"S'ok," he whispered without thinking about it, "I've got you, Beth. Gonna give y' just what you need." When _that_ made her moan, Daryl felt his cock twitch inside the confines of his jeans, but he did his best to ignore it. This was about her, one hundred percent. It was about her, all hot beneath his palm, her folds so slick when he shifted his fingers to gently graze through them. He stroked her there, finding every little spot and twist and tease that made her gasp or moan or had her hips arching up.

Just when he thought she was ready for it, her shifted his thumb to press it against the bud of her clit. His reward wasn't just the throb of her against the pad of his thumb, but the way Beth's whole body arched up for him as she exhaled in another soft moan.

"There y' go," he murmured, his voice huskier now and rough with the need he was shoving down in order to please her. "Just like that. Let go, Beth. Just feel it." His thumb circled her clit nice and firmly, until he felt her hips begin to rock gently up to meet the same rhythm. Daryl could feel her breathing begin to hitch and knew she was working up to that point, but wasn't quite there yet.

If she'd been anyone else, he'd have slipped his fingers inside of her by now, or knelt between her legs to use his mouth instead, but judging by her frustrating sounds the previous nights, this was all new to Beth. He wanted to take it slowly, for her. He wanted her to enjoy it.

Tonight he could show her just this, but tomorrow night...

The thought had his other hand brushing up under her shirt, over her taut belly and to her chest. He ignored any nagging voices telling him that maybe she wouldn't _want_ another night like this. All that mattered was right here, right now, making Beth come undone for him.

Her soft little breast just fit against the palm of his hand and he could feel her heart, pulsing like the fluttering of butterfly wings against his palm as he cupped and squeezed it. Soon his fingers were gently teasing her nipple to the same rhythm of the thumb working her clit, tweaking and gently pulling the way he knew would feel good for her.

Beth's head tipped back in a moan, but her eyes didn't close. They stayed open, big and blue and fixed on him as he worked her closer and closer to the edge until she was panting and gasping and straining for something he knew was just within reach. She just needed something to send her over the edge...

Daryl leaned in and held her gaze with his own and he rolled her hard little nipple between his fingers and brushed his thumb over her clit. In a near-growl, he breathed out, "Come for me, Beth. That's it. Just let go and come for me." He felt her shudder, felt her body arch like a bow and he exhaled huskily, "_Good girl_." And that was it. She came undone, trembling and shivering beneath him as her clit pulsed out the rhythm of her climax against his thumb as she gasped, "_Daryl_!"

Her moans spilled from her lips and the moment he realized that they might get loud enough for other people to hear, he did the only thing he could think of. He freed his hand from her breast, cupped her cheek, and drew her lips to his in a slow kiss that lingered even as he continued to gently work her clit and guide her through her orgasm until she slumped back to the bed and brought him with her.

When he finally broke the kiss so they could both catch their breaths, there was a blissful smile on her lips. He didn't think he'd ever seen anyone look so sated before. He'd _definitely_ never seen anyone look so beautiful before like this, all sweet and smiling and satisfied and covered in just the faintest sheen of sweet.

"_Wow_," she breathed out, as she lay back against the pillow. He almost began to draw away, thinking this might no longer be the place for him, and then she reached up. Her fingers curled through the hair at the side of his head, and that smile on her lips pinned him there in place even as he gently slipped his fingers away to rest on her thigh. "That was amazing."

"Yeah?"

She was giving him that smile again and he felt her fingers curling around his ear as she murmured, "Lord yes." Then, as if it were the simplest and most obvious thing ever, she asked, "You'll stay here, right? Tonight?"

When she was looking at him like that, he couldn't say no. He didn't want to. He just nodded, and before he even really knew what he was doing, he was lying in that tiny bed next to her. Daryl was on his back with his arms behind his head, still fully dressed in jeans and a button-down sleeveless shirt, ignoring the fact that he was definitely more than half-hard in his pants, because she looked so content, curled up next to him, her leg hooked over his and her arm over his stomach and her hair spilling a little across his shoulder.

"Hey Daryl?"

He looked down at her, and raised an eyebrow.

"You're going to come by tomorrow night too, right?"

Daryl just smiled, and shifted one hand down to rest against her warm back and hold her close as he felt her already beginning to drift to sleep. "I'll be here if you want me."

'Of course I do." Again, her simple and easy reply took his breath away. By the time it had returned, she was half-asleep on his chest and drifting even deeper. As sleep began to finally claim him as well, Daryl couldn't help thinking that he could easily get as used to this as he'd gotten used to the sounds of her above him every night.

And for once, it didn't even occur to him to think he didn't deserve to get used to something like that.

****A/N: I blame badassbethgreene on tumblr for this. She was talking about prison smut, and Daryl walking in on Beth, and so this happened in the course of about an hour. I hope you enjoyed it! If people like this enough I MAY be tempted to do a few more smutty scenes in this same scenario. He did promise to come back the next night, after all.**


	2. Chapter 2

****A/N: Ask and you shall receive another chapter of the prison smut! I am thinking this will be five chapters total. Far more smut than plot, but a hint of plot. Also, if you're wondering at what point in the show this AU is set... well I have no idea. Sometime around Season 4A, how's that? (Just enjoy the smut and don't think about it too much, maybe.)**

From the moment he had woken up next to Beth that morning, Daryl had known it could never happen again. No matter what she'd said the night before, it had clearly been just a one-time deal, right? Even if she had smiled all sleepily at him this morning when he'd slipped out of her bed before anyone could see them together. Even if she'd curled her fingers around his wrist with a little sigh and not let go till he'd gently run his fingers over her hair.

It had to have just been a one time thing. She was Beth Greene, 18 year old daughter of the very protective Hershel, younger sister of the presumably-protective Maggie... and he was Daryl Dixon, a dirty no-good redneck with a bad temper and a dark past. Allowing this to be anything other than a one-night stand was just asking for trouble, wasn't it? Beth must have known that as well as he did, right? She had to have. She'd needed help, and he'd given it to her. That was it. It was too complicated to be anything else.

Except he kept meeting her eyes now. He'd always been observant of everything around him, including her, but now it felt like his eyes were literally drawn to her. Every time he'd come into the main cell-block he'd look up and instantly spot her and remember how hot and slick she'd felt beneath his fingers, or the soft little sounds she'd made or the way she'd moaned his name, or the way her lips had felt against hers.

Daryl also couldn't help remembering how nice and warm she'd been just curled up beside him after. Come to think of it, he'd actually slept pretty damn well last night, too, and that was a rarity for him. It had always been a rarity for him, from when he was a child and he spent his nights flinching in anticipation of his father's upraised belt, to when he was an adult and his fitful sleep had become habitual. But not last night. Last night he'd slept better than he had in months, and he knew it was because... no. He couldn't think about Beth like that, couldn't remember everything that had been good at last night.

But the thing was, he was pretty sure she was remembering, too. Because whenever he'd look at her like that he'd see her looking back with this flush to her cheeks, her eyes all big and blue. Sometimes she'd nibble at her lower lip or give him a shy smile, and he _knew_ it was probably wrong and he _knew_ it probably shouldn't happen again but fuck if he didn't think about kissing her every time she looked at him like that.

But it _couldn't_ happen again. Which was what he kept telling himself over and over again every time he caught her looking at him, or realized _he_was looking at her far longer than he should have been.

_It can't happen again_, he told himself when she brushed past him once on her way down the stairs and he felt the warmth of her arm against his and breathed in the scent of strawberries lingering in the air around her.

_It can't happen again_, Daryl repeated when she sat next to him at dinner, and her thigh pressed lightly against his, and every time she'd tilt her head to talk to Maggie the end of her ponytail would brush against his arm.

He just kept telling himself it couldn't happen again over, and over... until everyone began to get up from the table, and Beth leaned over and looked up at him with those big damn eyes and murmured, "I'll see you tonight, right?"

_It can't happen, it can't happen, it can't happen..._

"Yeah." The word was out of his mouth before he could stop himself, but the truth was he didn't really want to. The truth was, he _wanted_ it to happen, and apparently, judging by the smile she gave him as she walked slowly away, so did Beth.

...

Waiting that night was harder than he'd expected. Had it always taken so long for everyone to wind down for the night? Had Judith always fussed so much? Had Carol always stayed up so damn late reading out on the steps? And fuck, did Maggie and Glenn _really_ have to care so damn little about being overheard? Because _they_ seemed to have no problem making all sorts of noise down in their cell and letting everyone listen in. Normally he just ignored it but tonight the sounds seemed to linger in his cell, making him remember Beth's soft little moans and pants last night, which in his opinion were far sexier.

Finally, _finally_ the moans faded, and he saw the light from Carol's candle extinguish. After he heard her footsteps heading down to her cell, he managed to wait all of about five minutes before he was on his feet and moving quietly and carefully up the stairs and around the railing to Beth's cell.

He pushed the curtain aside and stood in the doorway for a long moment, looking across the room to her. She was stretched out on the bed again, in the same little shorts and tank top, but this time her eyes were on his. There was a single candle lit in an empty jar next to her bed and in it's flickering light he could see a faint flush staining her cheeks.

Stepping into her cell felt far more intentional and meaningful than it had last night. Then they'd both been caught up and in the moment, but tonight they'd had all day to decide they wanted this, and now they were consciously choosing to meet here tonight to do, well... He still wasn't sure just how far they'd go tonight, but he at least knew it would only be what Beth wanted.

Ignoring the voices in the back of his head still trying to tell him that she couldn't possibly want this (and that he really shouldn't either), Daryl reached out to carefully close her cell door, and pulled the curtain shut over it. As the fabric fell to block out the view of anyone who might walk by (though he really hoped no one would), Daryl finally turned to hesitantly cross the room towards her.

He had no idea what to say. He wasn't caught up in the moment like he had been last night in his rush to apologize for coming into her cell like some creepy, dirty old man. Even if he'd known what to say he didn't think he could. But Beth, sweet little Beth, she just smiled up at him from where she was stretched out on the bed and murmured, "Hey..." When he chuckled just faintly at the random (but very 'Beth') greeting, she reached out to him to carefully take his hand. "C'mere... Come lay down with me?"

He wasn't about to tell her no. The truth was he didn't want to, even for some reason being with her right now was making him unexpectedly nervous. He took just a moment to toe off his shoes and left them beneath the edge of her bed as he climbed in beside her. The tiny old mattress creaked beneath his heavy frame as he carefully lay himself beside her. They were almost too big to fit together, but as he settled on his side Beth turned to face him. Her nose was just inches from his and he was suddenly acutely aware of the scent of strawberries and honey lingering around her, the big deep blue of her eyes, the fullness of her lips, and the warmth of her body so close to his.

His breath shuddered out of him for a moment, but he found himself pleased to realized that hers was just as unsteady. He could see the way it hitched in her chest as she looked over at him, so damn soft and sweet and so obviously waiting for him to do something.

It took him a moment, but Daryl finally reached out to rest his hand on the curve of her hip. He was instantly rewarded by the sight of some of her nervous tension easing from her limbs as she exhaled a pleased sigh. He drank in the sight of her so close, searching her face as if trying to find something that, judging by the furrow of his brow, he was worried about.

Beth was perceptive so really, he shouldn't have been surprised by her asking softly, "What?"

He swallowed hard and felt his adam's apple bob in his throat. But before he could stop himself, he breathed out roughly, "You sure y' want me here?"

"_Daryl_." She practically sighed his name, but not in exasperation. No if anything, there was only affection in her voice and in the sweet smile she gave him as she stretched her hand out and brushed her fingers up his side. "If I didn't want you here, I'd never have asked you. I do, okay? I _really_do." That blush was back on her cheeks again, and her eyes looked a tiny bit darker as she admitted in husky murmur, "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you all day. About last night, and you kissing me, and the feeling of your fingers when you..." She trailed off, and that shy and embarrassed little smile just reminded him of exactly who she was; sweet, innocent little Beth.

But that didn't scare him, this time. Sure, he still felt unworthy, but at the same time he just wanted to take care of her. He wanted to make her feel good, he wanted to give her what she needed and wanted, and if she wanted him, well, who was he to say no?

"Me too." He made his admission in far fewer words than her but Beth didn't seem to care at all. She lit up with a smile that curved up those full pink lips and brightened her eyes as she leaned in even closer to him. Daryl let his hand drift up, slipping under her shirt just enough so that the rough pads of his fingers could graze her soft, perfectly warm skin. "S'all for you, tonight. Whatever you want, you tell me. If you want me t' stop, you just say the word, okay?"

"No." Beth looked flustered the moment the word spilled out, and frankly Daryl was pretty confused, too. His brow furrowed but before he could ask the 'what' on the tip of his tongue, she blurted out, "I mean yes. Yes to me saying the word, if I want you to stop. But... But no to it being all for me. I don't... I don't want this to be, um, one-sided. I want it to be for _you_, too."

A hint of a smirk found it's way onto his lips as he studied her with amusement in his eyes. "Y' think this ain't for me, girl? You think I didn't enjoy last night?"

"No! I know you did, I mean, I felt-" She was blushing again, but she seemed determined to get the words out. He wondered if she was afraid of coming off too naive and innocent, and he wanted to tell her that he liked every flustered look and every stammered word. He wanted to tell her that she was the sweetest, cleanest, prettiest girl he'd ever seen and he had no idea why she'd ever even let him touch her, but he was so grateful he'd have thanked the lord for it, if he had been the praying type.

Daryl also admired the way she pushed herself on, even when she was flustered, drawing in a deep breath to finish, "I felt you last night, when you got into bed. I know you enjoyed making me feel good. But I... I wanna make _you_ feel good, Daryl." She looked up at him with those big doe eyes and he opened his mouth to tell her- what? That she didn't need to do that? That it baffled him that she'd even want to? That he didn't think he was good enough to even put his hands on _her_, and he couldn't fathom that he was in any way worthy of her soft, gentle hands on his rough, dirty skin?

Her finger pressed to his lips before he could say anything though, and instead she was the one breathing out between them, "Please. I want to, Daryl. Don't say no, okay? Don't say... Whatever it is you were about to argue with." A smile tugged at her lips and when she lowered her finger she was so close now that he could feel her breath ghosting over his mouth as she added in a murmur, "You said I could have whatever I want, Daryl. That's what I want. To make you feel good while you make me feel good."

Suddenly he could see how this whole inability to say no to her might get him into trouble in the future.

But that was the future, and this was now, and _now_ was far more important considering it included Beth's warm skin under his fingers and her lips so temptingly close to his. He closed the gap between them without hesitation and eased her lips over hers in a slow kiss. At least, it started out slow. It didn't take long before it began to deepen and this time he let his tongue slide across the seam of his lips to beg for entrance.

She seemed more than willing to give it, parting her lips so that his tongue could slip between them and glide inside, tasting the warmth of her mouth and sliding his tongue alongside hers until she moaned softly against his lips. There it was. The sweetest damn sound he'd ever heard and all he wanted was to hear it again and again and again.

His desire to coax more of those sounds from her warred with his instinct to keep things slow, to not push her or rush her. He managed to keep himself under control at least for now, even as his hand brushed up under her shirt. Of course when he realized she had no bra on again, he couldn't help but groan against her lips as he shifted his hand gently around to cup her perfect little breast.

The instant he did Daryl felt her back arch, delicately pressing her breast against the palm of his hand until he could feel the pert bud of her nipple. He obliged the silent request with a faint smile, shifting to brush his thumb in a slow circle over her nipple until she was whimpering into their kiss.

"You like that?" His voice was all low and raspy rough, and he didn't fail to notice that the sound of it sent a little shiver down her spine.

"_Lord yes_." Daryl wondered if she knew that her breathy little voice did just as much to him, but then she pressed against him and he felt his hard length strain against his jeans to press against her thigh, and he had a feeling she could figure it out.

"Tell me what you want." He turned his head and began to press open-mouthed kisses up over the line of her jaw towards her ear, where his lips grazed the curved shell as he murmured, "Tell me, Beth."

Her fingers curled into his shirt so tightly that he could feel them straining the fabric even as she slowly pressed her thigh more firmly against him. "Want... want..." She trailed off and swallowed hard again, and then her head tipped back to offer up her neck to him instead. He took the offer without hesitating, brushing his lips down over that warm flesh and tasting the faint salty hint of her sweat and the sweetness that seemed to naturally cling to her soft skin.

When Beth spoke again her voice was even lower, husky but still sweet at the same time. "Want to feel your fingers between my legs again, Daryl. Want to feel you touching me." His lips trailed across her neck to her throat, and as his tongue dipped into the warm hollow there he felt her swallow hard, heard her faintly gasp and then rock her hips against him again as she exhaled, "Want to touch you, too."

"Where?" He wasn't aware enough to realize how he sounded; that the voice he used now was so similar to the one he used out in the woods or on runs when he was in charge and everyone followed his lead without hesitation.

Just like she did, now, panting for just a moment before she whispered, "Your cock. I wanna touch your cock, Daryl."

_Fuck_. He was walking a dangerous fucking line between teasing her and torturing himself, and his proof was the shudder that went through him at her words and the way he instantly bucked his hips forward to grind against her soft thigh until _she_ gasped again and bit back a low, breathy moan.

Suddenly they weren't being quite so slow. Both of them reached for the other's pants, hands fumbling and tangling before he managed to guide hers to his pants and reach around them for her tiny little shorts. It only took him a few seconds to tug them down. His plan was to bring them down to her knees like he had last time, but Beth seemed to have something else in mind. Before he could stop her she was squirming out of them, letting them drop down until they dangled at only one ankle. It was impractical, he knew that logically, but he couldn't bring himself to care when he was looking down at her like this.

As soon as her shorts were out of the way Beth's hands were back up at the waistband of his jeans, fumbling with the button before the brush of his fingers over her wrist soothed her and had her focusing to undo them more deftly and draw the zipper down. The moment her fingers brushed against his boxer-briefs Daryl felt her hesitate, and he knew that innocent shyness was taking over again.

Luckily he knew the best way to combat that, and it involved his lips pressing to hers in another deep kiss. Soon their lips were parting, the kiss growing even deeper, all tangled tongues and soft sighs and little breathy moans, and he knew she'd forgotten to be nervous when he felt her gently tug down his jeans.

Unlike her, he didn't want to pull his jeans off completely. It would be a bad thing in so many ways to get caught with his pants down; not only in Beth's cell, but _anywhere_ should something happen, lord forbid. He stopped her when she'd tugged them down a few inches. That was enough. Instead he took her hand and gently guided her fingers to where his hard cock was outlined by the thin, worn fabric of his underwear.

The moment her fingers grazed his hard length they both trembled, and he heard her breath catch just a second after his did. But she didn't falter. She didn't pull back, or push him away. No, sweet and innocent little Beth Greene did the exact opposite; she slipped her fingers under the band of his boxer-briefs and pushed her fingers inside until they grazed the hot, hard flesh of his cock.

"_Fuck_." The curse slipped from his lips in an exhale he couldn't stop and really, he only felt the urge to curse again when he saw that pleased little smile curve across her lips. He knew what she was feeling; he was all off-kilter and she knew she'd done it to him. She felt the pleasure of knowing she had the power to make him breathless the way he'd done to her.

It was sexy as hell. Seeing that look on her face, he couldn't resist stretching out his own arm to brush his fingertips up the inside of her smooth thigh until he was just an inch from her heat. He stopped just there, so close but not quite touching her until she gave a faint little groan. "_Daryl_..."

His hips pressed forward, making her fingers graze his length again as he ground out roughly, "Say please."

Though her breath hitched in her throat, she didn't hesitate to breathe right back at him, "_Please_..."

He'd stumbled right over that thin line again, cause now he was groaning at how damn good she sounded pleading with him in that sweet but husky little voice. He had no fucking idea how she managed to do that; sound both sweet and innocent and sensual at the same time. But he really, really liked it. More than enough to give her what she wanted, not that he'd have refused either way. Not her. Not ever.

His fingers grazed between her slit, tracing over her slick, hot folds until he heard that sweet little moan again. It was that, and the feeling of her slender fingers curling around his thick length, that had him looking right into her eyes and murmuring in a raspy voice, "_Good girl_."

This time she didn't just shiver, she _moaned_, loud enough that he had to press his lips to hers to swallow as much of the sound as he could. Only when he was sure she'd composed herself- and when he'd gotten the taste of her on his tongue again- did he pulled back, though only to rest his forehead against hers. "Tell me how it feels, Beth."

"W-which?" Her tongue tripped over the words as he shifted his hand to brush his thumb lightly over the perfect little bud of her clit. He felt her fingers curl hesitantly around his cock again and gently squeeze as she asked, "Your fingers touching me, or mine touching you... _cock_?"

He was never going to get tired of Beth Greene saying _that_ word. Something so dirty that it shouldn't have been spilling from lips as sweet hers, and yet he'd never heard anything sound so sensual before, so _good_. "Both," he finally ground out as he looked into her eyes and let his fingers tease again through her slick folds.

"Your fingers feel amazing, Daryl." He knew she was flustered and shy, and yet Beth had an unexpectedly boldness to her, a confidence he wouldn't have expected. Then again, maybe his own confidence was just as much a surprise. Some part of him was still determined to feel unworthy of her, and yet none of that showed. There was something about Beth wanting him, _trusting_ him, that made it easy to push those thoughts away and be strong, be in control as best he could be.

"I've never felt anything as good as you touching me like this, Daryl. When you... when you touch my clit, it's all I can do not to cry out." She bit her lip and rocked her hips gently against his hand as she went on, "I... I want more. I can't help it. I wanna feel your fingers... _inside me_." She got the words out in a whispered rush, and then just as quickly went on, "And I wanna make you feel good too, Daryl. You feel so good in my hand; your_cock_ feels so good; so hard and thick and warm." She swallowed quickly and her nose brushed his as she asked in a whisper, "Will you show me, Daryl? Show me how to touch you, how to make you feel good?"

He was the one with more experience, and if that had all been mostly reluctant in the past, he was almost glad for it now that it meant he knew how to make Beth feel good, how to give her what she wanted. So he could easily understand her wanting to be able to do the same for him. He couldn't say no, but he didn't want to. He wanted _this_. He wanted to make her feel good, but he also wanted to show her how to do the same for him, and he didn't care if that somehow might make him more of the creepy old man some part of him still wanted to think he was.

"You're doin' pretty damn good," he replied a bit roughly; just the feeling of her fingers around him was enough to make his toes curl a bit and his breath go all short. "Just let yourself touch me, Greene. Just-"

"Beth."

He raised an eyebrow but she met his gaze firmly, tilting her chin up in that stubborn way she had sometimes where she was absolutely determined and refusing to back down. "Call me Beth." For just a moment that strength softened, and he heard her sweet innocence again as she added in a whisper, "Please?"

He swallowed hard. He didn't tumble over that fine line, this time he felt it crumbling beneath him as something about her words or her voice (or both) tugged at something within him. Daryl hesitated for just a moment, and then went on, "Let yourself touch me, Beth." Her little hitch of breath put another little smile on his lips. "Curl your fingers around my cock and just stroke, up and down nice and slow. Work the-" He swallowed hard as he felt her fingers already moving, and it took him a second to roughly finish, "Work the foreskin back and forth over the head just like- _fuck_, yes, just like that."

She was a quick learner, that was for sure. Her grip was hesitant but only for those first few unsure strokes, and then he felt her rhythm smooth out. Soon her fingers curled a little bit tighter, and she began to stroke her hand firmly over his length, teasing the foreskin over the head of his cock until _he_ was the one biting back another moan. What he didn't hold back were his own fingers, his thumb now brushing in slow circles over her slick clit as his fingers teased at her entrance, doing all he could not to delve into her without hesitation.

"Tell me again that you want this." It wasn't just that he wanted to hear her, it was that he needed to. He needed to be sure that she wanted everything he was doing with her, or it wouldn't be right.

"I want this." Beth's fingers slowed but only for a moment, and her grip was just as firm as she looked into his eyes and murmured, "I want this so badly I can barely focus on anything else. I want this more than I think I've wanted almost anything before." Her lips brushed over his and she smiled against his mouth as she added, "Daryl if you don't let me feel your fingers inside me, I think I might snap or something."

To his surprise he chuckled, and the low rough sound seemed to coax a soft laugh from Beth's lips as well. "Can't have that, can we?" She was laughing still when he let his finger slip between her folds and begin to gently press into her tight, slick heat. Slowly but surely he worked his finger into her, and soon her laughter turned to a breathy little moan as her fingers curled a little bit tighter around his shaft in response.

"Relax for me," he murmured, forehead to forehead and their noses faintly brushing together. "Just let yourself feel it, Beth. You're so damn wet for me, girl. So fucking hot."

"Yeah?"

"Hell yeah." He saw her smile, but he _felt_ it, too, in the way she instantly eased beneath him. Her body relaxed, allowing his finger to draw slowly back and then slide into her again. This time when she gasped, her fingers fumbled at his cock for just a moment before she began to stroke over his length again.

"Good girl." If he hadn't already known she liked that, the way her hips pressed forward in response to his rough murmur would have made it clear.

It didn't seem to take them long to find a rhythm together. His finger slid in and out of her nice and slow, and her fingers stroked around him to the same rhythm. It was damn good, but it only got better when she gave him a sweet little hum in agreement to the press of a second finger against her. Two was just what she needed. Two of his fingers stroking within her had Beth gasping and biting back moans as her hips began to rock into his touch.

Their hands moved to the same rhythm, stroking and teasing until both of them were panting for breath. She had this blissful expression on her face and lord it looked good, but it wasn't enough. Daryl smirked for just a second, just long enough for her to see that promising look on his lips, and then he gave her just what she needed. His fingers curled within her, searching until he found that perfect spot just... right... _there_.

Her back curved like a bow, her hips bucked up, and he pressed his lips to hers just in time to catch and swallow her cry of pleasure. To her credit her hand only faltered for a second and then she was curling her fingers tighter and stroking him in a rhythm perfect enough to have _him_ muffling a low groaned 'fuck' against her lips again. Her free hand scrambled to clutch at his hip as her other continued to jerk him off with surprising confidence and god, he never would have guessed that Beth Greene would be so goddamn good at this.

(Merle would've said something nasty about the girl being a natural. Daryl just thought that Beth Green was good at whatever she set her mind to, whatever she truly wanted, and he was damn fucking lucky that she'd decided that for now, that was him.)

It only took a few moments to have them both on the edge. Her hips were rocking hard against his hand and it was all he could do to catch and stifle the little cries and moans she was spilling into their kiss. Hell, he could barely keep his own quiet as his hips bucked into the grip she had on his cock. His toes curled but he fought that tension, trying to hold it back and bring her over the edge first. He knew she was close, could feel it in the tight lines of her body and the way she trembled with each curl of his fingers or brush of his thumb across her throbbing little clit.

"That's it," he groaned, kissing the corner of her lip and letting his tongue glide across her lower lip. "_Come_ for me, Beth."

Just like last night, that was all it took. Her hips bucked up once, twice, and he was right there to cover her mouth with his as she came undone. Her whole body was arched and shivering and he could feel her pulsing around his fingers and throbbing against his clit and god she was so damn gorgeous- always, but especially like this with pleasure etched across that sweet, pretty face.

He caught each of her moans but even muffled against his mouth, Daryl could hear her gasping and crying out his name more than anything else. "Daryl, Daryl... _Daryl_!" His name had never sounded so damn good, but there was something even better, and that was her looking up at him with dark eyes and pleading in that husky sweet voice as she shivered against him, "Come for me, Daryl. _Please_."

Again, he couldn't say no, even if he'd wanted to and lord knew he didn't. His hips bucked into her hand once, twice, again... and then he felt that tension tighten within him and snap and he growled against her mouth, rough and almost animalistic as he felt his hips thrust forward as he spilled into her hand. The release left him groaning against his mouth, "_Beth_..." It was the hardest he'd come in years, and it was all because of her. Sweet little Beth Greene with her soft hand and surprisingly skillful touch... and of course, the way she wanted him.

Minutes later when both of them had finally come down from that high and were curled together still catching their breath, he reached down into his pocket and used a bandanna he had stuck in there to wipe himself clean. Though Beth took the time to pull her shorts back up, she didn't pull away from him. If anything, as soon as her shorts were up and he'd buttoned up his jeans again, she only pressed closer to him.

They'd gotten each other off with their hands and their kisses, but somehow a part of him felt even closer to her right now with her thigh tucked between his and her cheek pressed to his chest and her arm slung over his stomach. She was so small and soft and warm and she fit so perfectly against him like this, he wasn't even sure what he was supposed to do besides hold her there nice and close.

As far as Daryl could tell, that was all she wanted. He didn't make a move to leave, this time. He just held her until he felt her breathing begin to slow and his own body began to relax as well. Both of them drifted towards sleep- or so he thought, until Beth's soft voice interrupted him to casually suggest, "I was thinking tomorrow night, we could try maybe using our mouths instead of our fingers. What do you think?"

What did he think? Well he was pretty damn sure that 'fine line' beneath his feet had just crumbled to dust.

He was also pretty damn sure he was _really_ looking forward to tomorrow night.

"I think you're gonna kill me, girl."

"Mmm..." She nuzzled against his neck and he felt her smile against his skin as she said, "Yeah, but if it feels anything like this it's gonna be a really, really good death."

Daryl couldn't disagree with that, even if he'd wanted to.

****A/N: I hope you enjoyed that one as much as everyone seemed to like the first! More to come eventually, I promise.**


	3. Chapter 3

****A/N: I would just like to state, for the record, that this was just supposed to be quick smut. All the plot and emotions that started to happen, you can blame on Bethyl. I mean it's all their fault really, can't even have some naughty smut without falling for each other.**

**ANYWAY, this chapter is intended to kind of set up some backstory and show that maybe this whole thing that's between them wasn't so spur-of-the-moment, and has been brewing a bit longer than they realized. (Also there's smut, of course, but with some fluff mixed in.)**

The first time Beth had worn his leather jacket, it had been accidental- at least, according to her. He'd come back from a run with Zach where he'd let the kid drive, and accidentally left his leather jacket in the backseat, having stripped it off after running from a small herd of walkers got him all sweaty. A half hour later, after helping to unload the supplies they'd gotten (not the best haul but not the worst, since it had finally included some more formula for Lil' Asskicker), Daryl had remembered the jacket and gone to fetch it.

But when he'd made his way outside and towards the car, he'd spotted the jacket in the last place he'd expected it; draped on the slender form of little Beth Greene. She was standing beside the car with her back to him, apparently looking out over the grounds past the fence. The leather jacket came down below her ass, and her jean-clad legs stretched out from under it, far longer than they frankly had a right to be considering how short she was.

"Thought you were supposed to be the good sister," Daryl had drawled as he came up behind her, "You gettin' into stealin' now, Greene?"

When she'd whirled towards him, he realized she'd been clutching the jacket close to her chest, fingers curling into the lapels to bring it up to her chin. For a second he'd wondered if she'd been breathing in the scent of it, the combination of old leather and what he knew was probably his own smell, cigarettes, sweat and dirt and a hint of blood, but he discarded that after a moment. She had a boyfriend after all, and even if she didn't, little (_young_, he'd reminded himself) Beth Greene wouldn't be interested in anything like how Daryl Dixon smelled.

Speaking of the boyfriend... "Oh gosh, I'm sorry! I thought it was Zach's, but then I put it on and realized it had to be yours." She was babbling but he hadn't much minded, or maybe she'd just been pinning him there with those big blue eyes and making it harder for him to care, especially when she'd gone on, "I mean it's way too big but it also kinda smells like you, you know... Like cigarettes and leather and just, I dunno, _you_, and I knew I probably should have taken it off, but it's so nice and warm..."

She just kept going on and on, which hadn't much surprised him. What _had_ surprised him was the things she'd said, the fact that he hadn't been so far off the mark wondering if she'd been breathing in the scent of him that clung to the jacket. As she'd continued to ramble something about the cool air, he'd let his gaze trail over her, admiring how the large jacket looked on her slim frame, how it revealed a hint of her flat stomach covered by a thin t-shirt, how her legs looked stretching out beneath it and how it was so obviously twice her size and yet somehow looked good on her in a way he'd been pretty sure he should _not_ be noticing.

Daryl had refocused on her face just in time to hear her breathe out in a rush, "I'll take it off right now, you can have it back, okay? I really am sorry."

"Nah." He'd spoken without thinking, surprising himself for only a moment before he'd looked her quickly over once more and said, "Keep it. Looks better on you, anyway."

It had, without a doubt, despite the fact that he'd known at the time that he really should not be admiring how Hershel Greene's youngest baby daughter looked in his big leather jacket.

Just like he'd known he shouldn't have felt so disappointed later that night when he'd found it folded up on his bed in his cell with a little note on top of it, loopy handwriting scrawled across a scrap of paper: _You keep it. Looks best on you. Even if it is nice and warm._

The truth was he'd never looked at that damn jacket the same after that, and as a result it wasn't the last time he offered it to her. He'd never tried to get her to keep it, not after the first time, but it became a little thing between them; the sharing of his jacket. That winter when he'd notice her looking cold or shivering too much in her raggedy cardigan, he'd grab his leather jacket and bring it to her. Soon his tendency to just offer it up silently had progressed to him gently settling it over shoulders from behind, and he'd told himself over and over that it was just to be nice (never mind that he wasn't the 'nice' type) and not because he liked the slight warmth of her skin beneath his fingers, or the way her hair managed to smell faintly like strawberries even now.

She wasn't his to look at, but he looked sometimes. Especially when she was in that jacket. But he'd tried to never look at her in a way that was too far from simply friendly. Until that day he'd had to go to her cell and tell her that he'd lost her boyfriend, that he'd failed to bring another member of their family home and this time it was someone close to her.

That night, dazed by the way she'd asked him if _he_ was okay, the way she had wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly, he'd gone to get her the jacket. If she could warm him with her arms and the nearness of her slender body than he could find his own way to return some of that warmth. In her cell he had slipped the jacket on her and watched as she'd wrapped it around herself, watched as she'd tipped her head down and breathed in the scent of leather and cigarettes and sweat (and strawberries) that lingered on the jacket. He'd sat there just inside her cell, back against the wall and feet braced so his arms could rest on his knees and just kept watch over her as she tucked her stockinged feet under herself and let his jacket hug her the way he couldn't yet manage himself.

After that, there had been a decidedly different feeling each time he'd given her the jacket. There had been something almost vaguely flirtatious in the sidelong glances she'd give him as she slipped her arms into it, a faint hint of heat in her eyes when she'd raise the lapel to her nose and breathe in deep, a flush to her cheeks when his gaze would skim over her right down to her long legs with a hint of appreciation in his eyes. He had found himself making more and more excuses to lend her his jacket, to give himself that brief moment of fingers grazing her skin, the hours of watching her walk around in _his_ jacket, knowing _his_ scent clung to her skin now from wearing it.

The morning after their second night together, he'd woken up with her in his arms, both of them having slept straight through the night after their shared climaxes. An hour after he'd left her tangled in the sheets to slip into his cell before anyone saw him, and once the memories of her fingers curled around his hard length had faded at least slightly from his mind, Daryl remembered the first night he'd heard her moaning above him in her frustrated attempts to bring herself off.

More than that, he remembered that _day_, and the fact that she'd spent it in his jacket. It had slipped his mind until now, but it was back, vivid and pointed in his mind. She had worn it for almost five hours that day, handing it over only right before bed, and he'd caught her sniffing at her shirt with a faint smile as she'd walked slowly up the stairs to her cell. That night was the first night he'd heard her touching herself, heard her trying so desperately to help herself find a release.

He felt like an idiot for not putting two-and-two together quicker. He'd thought he'd been the only one with images of the two of them in his mind, the one who'd been worked up by the sounds of desire until he couldn't resist the urge to help her anymore, even if she'd never been after his help, let alone thought of him that way.

It had never occurred to him that she'd been thinking of him the whole time. That she'd been trying to ease the frustration and desire brought on by the scent of _him_, lingering on her skin and clothing.

Now that he knew, Daryl couldn't resist the urge to not only make sure _she_ was aware of his understanding, but to play with it as well. He saw his chance when he spotted her walking down the cell on her way to the library to help Carol with the kids. He met her at the bottom of the stairs, slipping around behind her to slide the jacket over her shoulders.

"Daryl! I'm not cold today, you know..." But she was already slipping one arm into it, even as she gave her protests.

He just chuckled and this time, because he could and because no one was there to see it, he leaned in close enough for her hair to brush against his nose, close enough for his lips to graze the soft skin of the back of her neck as he murmured against it, "I know. Ain't trying to warm you up. At least..." His tongue teased at the line of the jacket collar where it rested against her skin, and he was rewarded with the way she faintly shivered and tugged the jacket closer as he finished, "...not like that."

"_Daryl_..." Beth murmured his name in a breathy little voice that did all kinds of things to him, things he really couldn't do much about, at least not right now.

Today, they'd do what they had to, they'd do their jobs. Tonight, though, would be their time, and he wanted her ready for him. "You wear this today for me, alright? Then if it gets you all worked up again like it did the other day-" He heard her breath hitch as she realized he'd figured out what had worked her up that first night. "-you come to my cell instead. And maybe if you're good, we'll do what you suggested last night, hm?" He smirked in the memory of her, teasing heat into his dreams with her murmured suggestions about them using their mouths to please each other.

Daryl pressed a kiss to the side of her neck and then pulled away, sliding reluctantly past her and waiting until she turned to watch him before giving one last low parting shot, "But you're keeping that jacket on _all_ night."

...

There was no doubt that his plan had succeeded in getting Beth worked up. All day long each time their eyes had met, he'd seen the flush to her cheeks and the darkness in her eyes as her gaze lingered on him.

There was also no denying that his plan had gotten him worked up, too. He'd always thought that Beth looked good in his jacket; seeing her in it stirred up a mix of emotions ranging from desire and attraction, to some unexpected protective urges that rose each time he used his jacket to keep her warm or give her some form of comfort.

The day dragged, and each time he saw her in that jacket he just longed more and more for the sun to set, for everyone to go to bed and give them privacy; or at least as close to privacy as they could get now. Daryl knew she wanted the same thing. He saw it in her eyes, in the way she brushed past him when given the chance, in the way she made a point of curling her fingers into the jacket and drawing it up to her face so he could watch as she breathed it in.

_Fuck_, but he wanted her. He wanted her more than he reckoned he'd ever wanted anyone before. He wanted her soft smooth skin under the rough pads of his fingers, he wanted the scent of strawberries and leather in his nose, he wanted to swallow her soft little moans and coax even more of them out of her with his fingers, his teeth, his tongue, anything she would let him pleasure her with.

This time, he didn't wait for the cellblock to empty so he can go to her. Instead he waited for it to empty so she could come to him. Just as last night felt far more deliberate and thus important, tonight did to. It wasn't just him coming into her space, it was her coming willingly to his. Her seeking him out, not just wanting him but actively acting on it. It was incredibly hot without a doubt, and he was so keyed up over the idea of her coming to him that his nervous energy kept him from laying down to wait for her the way she had for him last night.

Instead he sat at the edge of his bunk, legs spread so his arms could rest on his knees and dangle between them, his eyes fixed on his cell door and his sharp ears tuned to the sound of movement beyond. He watched through the bars with relief as Maggie and Glenn went by on their way to watch knowing it meant that thankfully he wouldn't have to listen to them going at it tonight. Thinking about that only made him think about the sounds Beth made instead, so soft and sweet and yet so damn sensual and tempting that it made his fingers twitch with the urge to coax them out of her again and again.

Daryl didn't know how much longer he could wait, but just when he was about to rise to his feet and find her himself, there she was. She stood in his doorway, pushing the cell door open slowly to slip inside. The sight of her left him frozen for just a moment as he drank her in; she was still wearing that damn jacket but she'd changed from her regular clothes, and all she had under it was a little skimpy tank-top and those damn tiny shorts.

She looked like heaven and sin all wrapped up in a leather jacket and the fact that she'd risked walking through the cell block like that to get to him only made him want her even more. In the time it took her to close the cell door, cover it, and cross the distance between them, Daryl managed to get up and on his feet so that when she was close enough he could curl his fingers into the leather and pull her across those last few inches.

Being this close to her made it hard to breathe, and it took him a few moments to find his voice. With his lips just a scant inch from hers, close enough to feel her breath ghosting over his mouth, he murmured lowly, "Did you keep the jacket on all day, Beth?"

Beth shivered against him as her fingers came up to curl into his shirt. He was surrounded by a cloud of their mixed scents; leather and strawberries and sweat and sweetness, and he couldn't help but want to add the faint scent of pleasure and sex to that mix. Her head tipped up just slightly as she murmured in reply, "Yes. You have no idea how badly it made me want you, Daryl, smelling you on me and having the warmth of your jacket around me and seeing the way you kept watching me..."

He left one hand drift down, palming over the curve of her ass to give a gentle squeeze as a faint smirk pulled at the corner of his lips. The movement pressed their hips together, allowing her to feel how he was already more than half hard and straining against his jeans as he murmured, "I think I have _some_ idea."

When Daryl looked down, her eyes were all big and dark blue and those sweet little lips parted to breathe out in a hushed voice, "_Oh_."

There was nothing he wanted to do more than kiss her, and so that was what he did. He cupped her face in one hand and drew her lips to his, easing his mouth over hers in a slow, soft kiss. It didn't take long to deepen, especially not when he felt the tip of her tongue dance against the seam of his lips in a playful request. With a chuckle that rumbled in his chest he parted his lips and let her tongue slip inside to taste him. Her sweetness exploded across his own tongue, coaxing up a groan low in his throat as he gripped her hip with one hand and tugged her closer again, desperate to feel her body pressed against his own.

His mouth shifted, lips grazing up the line of her jaw towards her ear, the stubble of his beard scratching gently against her soft skin as he murmured, "Had you in my head all damn day. Even before the jacket." The words spilled out before he could stop them, but judging by the little sigh she gave and the way she pressed herself up against him, it hadn't been a bad thing to say. Daryl just wasn't used to it; not just feeling things like that to begin with, but _telling_ someone that he hadn't been able to get them out of his head.

It was all new for him, but knowing it was new for Beth made it easier to handle. Hell, he figured he could handle just about anything if it meant having her pressed against him, those soft curves molding to the hard lines of his chest as she slipped one hand around his waist to splay it against his back.

"You promised," she whispered after a moment, a smile in her voice that he knew would be visible on her lips if he pulled away to look. He was too focused on teasing her though, nipping lightly at the delicate curve of her neck; enough to taste her but not quite enough to leave a mark behind. Her voice hitched as she went on, "Promised that if I were good..."

"I did, didn't I?" His voice was low and a little rough with need as his hand shifted under the jacket to seek out the warm stretch of skin exposed between the hem of her tank top and the waist of her little shorts. "Have you been good, Beth?"

Just the simple question brought a whimper to her lips. "I kept the jacket on all day. Couldn't get you out of my head and didn't want to. I think every inch of me smells like you and it's been driving me crazy but I didn't... _do_ anything about it. Didn't touch myself, even though I wanted to, cause... cause I really just wanted _you_ to touch me, even if I had to wait for it. Is that good, Daryl? Waiting so that you could take care of me?"

Everything she said sounded incredible, but that last little question had something more warm and protective curling through him again. _Take care of me_. He'd never thought of it like that and yet in a way, that was just what he was doing, what he had been doing since the first time he'd seen her in his jacket. Maybe even before, but less obviously. He'd been keeping her warm, keeping her comforted, and now, keeping her satisfied. Daryl's breath shuddered out briefly against her ear before he pulled back, shifting his head until his nose brushed against hers and their foreheads pressed together. "Yes," he murmured, looking down into her eyes. "That's very, very good, Beth."

Now both of his hands were on her hips and curling as he lifted her up, just enough to carry her to his bed and sit her down. "Now you let me take care of you." His eyes were dark as they fixed on her, drinking in the sight of her stretched out on his small mattress, the leather jacket falling open to reveal the tiny tank top that clung to her curves. Her long legs stretched out from beneath the little shorts that, while tempting, he no longer had a use for.

But before he could tug them down, her voice broke into his thoughts. "I wanna help you, too, Daryl. Wanna take care of you, like last night." Beth sounded more confident tonight and he knew she was feeling less nervous being like this with him. Or maybe she could sense how just being near her made his heart race, and it leveled the playing feel somehow. She bit her lip and shifted to run her toes up the side of his jean-clad leg, coaxing a shudder from him as she breathed out huskily, "Wanna taste you, baby."

_Baby_. The affectionate nickname spilled so easily from her lips, but it made him hesitate for just a moment. No one had ever called him anything like that in his life. (Well, not like this. His mother, a long time ago, but he tried not to think of her when he was with Beth like this.) It sounds too soft for a rough guy like him, too affectionate, too... sweet. Merle's voice whispered in the back of his mind: _You let her start callin' you baby, she's gonna have you wrapped 'round her finger instead of between her legs, baby brother._

Ironically it got the message across, but probably not the way Merle would have wanted. Cause it hit him, scary as it was, that Daryl wouldn't much mind being wrapped around Beth Greene's fingers, and not just because he knew that given what they'd been sharing between them it'd likely involve being wrapped up between her legs, too. He wanted both of those things. It terrified him because it was too similar to the constant want of a child who had ached every day for someone to care, for someone to want him, but before he could sink too deep into that fear, Beth's hand was there cupping his cheek and drawing his attention back up to her.

"Daryl?" She sounded more hesitant now, the confidence faded as she watched him with worry in her eyes.

He licked his lips and shook his head and focused on her and the concern in her big eyes and his desire to do just what she'd asked; to take care of her. "Soon. You can do that to me soon. But you come first, Beth." (_Always_, something echoed deep within him. Beth would always come first.) Keeping his eyes on her, Daryl hooked his fingers into the waistband of her shorts and drew them down inch by inch until they were dangling once more from a single foot. Though he knew it was a risk, he let her kick them off this time. He couldn't bring himself to worry, not when she was laying out before him like that all flushed with need and trusting him to take care of it. To take care of _her_.

He clung to those words and took them deep within him, deeper than he even realized in that moment. He thought he'd accepted the task of taking care of her that first night he'd made his way up to the stairs and into her room, but now he was realizing that it was far deeper than that. That he'd been taking care of her in his own way for awhile now, and that he would continue to take care of her in every way she needed. Maybe part of why he wanted to so badly was because Beth seemed just as inclined to want to take care of him, and he'd never had anyone like that in his life before. He'd never had anyone reciprocate, the way Beth did.

After a moment of just drinking in the sight of her, Daryl shifted onto the bed to kneel between her legs. She was propped up against his pillows, sitting up halfway so there was space for him lay at the base of the bed between her legs, but for now he leaned over her with his hands braced on either side of her shoulders. He pressed a kiss to the corner of her lips and then down, over her jaw to the curve of her neck and the hint of collarbone visible under the strap of her tank-top.

Breathing in the leather of his jacket, Daryl let his hand shift to span her stomach and brush up, pushing her shirt up inch by inch to reveal her taut belly and eventually, the soft curves of her perfect little breasts. He lingered there, kissing up over the soft swells and teasing her nipples with light touches before his tongue dipped out to swirl around them and tease each rosy bud into an eager little peak. Daryl lost several minutes just sucking those pert little nipples between his lips, earning the soft moans she gave him, loving the way she shifted and squirmed beneath him and tried to arch up in a silent request for more.

Eventually, reluctantly, he had to leave them behind to trail kisses down over her belly. His tongue traced over her skin, dipping into her navel and surprising a little giggle from her lips that had him smiling against her skin even as he reached her abdomen and settled on his stomach between her legs. He couldn't fail to notice how hard he was, his cock straining against his jeans even as he pressed his hips down against the bed, but he did his best to ignore it for now.

It was easier than expected with her spread open in front of him, letting him look at her most intimate place, drinking in the sight of those pretty pink folds all slick with need, for _him_. With a groan, his arms shifted under her thighs in a smooth motion and lifted to hook her legs over his shoulders. He must have caught her by surprise, judging by the little gasp she gave him, but Beth was a quick learner. In only a few seconds she'd settled her legs over his shoulders and even opened her knees a little wider in invitation as she canted her hips up.

He couldn't help feeling like it was an offering, but that didn't stop him from making sure. His lips hovered just over her sweet little mound and he looked up over the length of her body. Every inch of her was smooth pale skin and soft curves, and fuck, the sight of her practically naked and still wearing his leather jacket was more than enough to make his cock jump again where it was pinned down to the bed.

Fighting the urge to devour her, Daryl ground out in a voice roughened with need, "You sure, Beth? Still holds, what I said. You say the word and I stop."

"I'm sure." She didn't even hesitated and that only sent another jolt of need through him. "Don't stop, Daryl. _Please_ don't stop."

This time, the 'good girl' he gave her was practically growled against her slick skin as he leaned down and breathed her in deep; inhaled the scent of sex that is entirely hers. The first brush of his tongue slid over her slit to part her folds, and the taste of her on his tongue made him moan against her. His own reaction paled in comparison to hers, though. Daryl watched up the length of her body as her lips parted in an 'o' of pleasure and surprise before she breathed out a needy little moan; another addition to the list of the best damn sounds he'd ever heard.

His tongue teased over her, tasted her, gently moving over her pink flesh to get her used to the feeling of him exploring her. Each brush of his tongue was met with a soft moan until he smiled against her and looked up to whisper, "Don't get too loud, you don't want me t' have to stop..."

When Beth whimpered in response, Daryl almost felt like he'd been cruel, but he wasn't entirely lying. They both knew they couldn't afford to get too loud unless they wanted to get caught. Seeing the worry in her eyes though, he couldn't help adding in a whisper, "I don't want to stop. Promise." It was the last thing he wanted to do, and he hoped she knew that.

His reward for that admittance was the gentle parting of her knees and the arch of her hips until he gave in again to the urge to taste her, to make her come undone with his lips and tongue. Soon, just stroking around her soft lips wasn't enough and he knew she was ready for more. He slowly teased his tongue around her clit, just close enough to touch it but nowhere near the pressure she might crave. Each teasing circle of that sensitive little bud had her biting back breathy little moans and moving her hips against his mouth until he had to reach up and curve his hands around her hips to pin them lightly down to the bed to keep her still.

Now Beth squirmed and strained against his touch- in pleasure, without a doubt, he would have let go in a heartbeat if he thought she wanted to get away- and he compensated by building to a slow rhythm, flicking his tongue back and forth against her throbbing little clit until he saw her press her hand to her mouth to stop from crying out. "_Good girl_," he whispered, lips grazing her hot flesh as he looked up at her. "Stay quiet for me, I know it's hard. I'll make it worth it..."

Daryl was determined to, and to prove it he began to suck at her clit, wrapping it between his lips and using the tip of his tongue to flick across it until even his firm hands could barely keep her hips down. He could feel the arch and strain of her body, could see the way her back curved up for him and her head tossed against the pillow to make a mess of her pale blonde hair. He saw her bite down on her lip, heard her frantic and stifled moans, and knew she was getting closer and closer to the edge.

"_Daryl_!" She breathed out his name between her fingers and he felt his cock jerk against the bed again as he growled around her little clit, sending the vibrations right through her body and earning him another sharp strain of her hips in return. So close, so close he could feel it in every line of her body, so close he could _taste_ it on the juices that coated his tongue, and all he wanted was to bring her right over the edge for him again.

It only took a few moments longer. He thought about using his fingers, too, but there was a part of him that desperately wanted to bring her over with nothing but his lips and tongue and the vibrations of his moans against her slick flesh. When she finally came, her thighs pressed so tightly around his head that _he_ almost saw stars, but he didn't stop. He sucked and teased at her throbbing clit, feeling it pulse against his lips and tongue to the same rhythm of her bucking hips and trembling body. He held her hips tightly until the arching of her hips slowed and his hands could brush up over her sides, palms rough against her smooth skin, tracing a path up to cup and caress the gentle swells of her breasts until she was squirming beneath him again in renewed climax.

She was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, but when she came it was almost like she was the sun, and looking at her too long might hurt, but he still couldn't get enough.

When she finally came down, he eased her thighs apart and sat up slowly. His lips and chin glistened with her juices and he saw her studying him, her big blue eyes all hooded with desire. He was still incredibly hard, his cock straining against his jeans and twitching within them as she looked over the length of him with that heated gaze.

He only moved when she called to him with a crook of her finger and a shy little smile he coudn't resist. Soon Daryl was lying beside her, turning her on her side to face him, his hand brushing over the curve of her hip under the leather of the jacket she still wore as they lay facing each other. He let her kiss him first, let her slide her lips over his, relishing the first kittenish little moan she gave when she tasted herself on his tongue.

For awhile they just lay there kissing, basking in the shared warmth of their bodies, taking advantage of the intimacy of the moment to run hands over hips and backs and legs, pressing close to each other in a tangle of limbs and the gentle press of her bare pressed to his shirt-covered chest. Daryl would have been more than content to drift to sleep like this, to let his own desire ease away, but it seemed Beth had no intention of that.

Maybe she was just as big as he was on keeping promises.

Because after a few minutes he felt her hand drifting down over the flat of his stomach to find the front of his jeans and carefully toy with the button to undo them. "You don't have to," he breathed out, feeling the need to make sure she knew that, even if the mere thought of her lips wrapped around his cock had him twitching in his jeans.

"I want to." Hearing those words in Beth's sweet soft voice just made him throb with need again and he groaned as his fingers curled against her hip, even as she went on, "I've been thinking about it all day, Daryl. What you'd taste like. What you'd... Feel like, in my mouth."

"Fuck." His hips bucked into her hand as she drew down the zipper, and a low laugh vibrated in his chest again as he went on, "That leather jacket turnin' you into a bit of a bad girl? Might have to let you wear it more..."

He felt her grin against his lips, but what floored him was the honesty in her eyes as she looked over at him and whispered, "I think those kinda things about you even without the jacket. I think _lots_ of things about you, Daryl. You're in my head and I don't wanna get you out."

She punctuated those words with the slip of her delicate hand between the fly of his zipper, distracting him from any hint of worry over the meaning in her words, and as her fingers curled around the base of his cock to gently guide it out of his pants, he groaned back honestly, "Me either." He didn't want her to get him out of her head, just as he didn't want her out of his. There might have been some small part of him that continued to insist on his unworthiness, but it paled in comparison to the desire that filled him when she was around; to hold her, to have her, to kiss her... to comfort and care for her.

Somehow he ended up on his back and when he could focus again, he looked down to see Beth Greene kneeling between his legs clad in nothing but his leather jacket and her tank top pushed up above her perfect breasts, with her fingers curled around his thick cock. "_Fuck_, Beth..." His groaned curse just made her smile, and he knew she felt that sense of control again, the hint of power she had over him. Daryl heard it in her voice as she looked down at him and teased, "You like that, Mr. Dixon?"

"You know I do." The throbbing of his cock in her hand was all the answer to that question, but that wasn't what had him breathless right now. It was her. The look in her eyes and the sound of her voice, and the fact that just being this close to her in this way seemed to take his damn breath away. It was almost too much for him. He didn't want to take that power from her, because it was hot as hell when she smirked at him like that, but he needed to get some of his own control back or it would be too much.

"What do you want, Beth?" He spoke in a low and confident voice that only hitched briefly when she twisted her fingers around his shaft. "You wanna wrap your lips around my cock and find out how it tastes? Is that what you want?" When she squirmed in place and gave a breathy little sound, he pressed his hips up gently into her hand and said firmly, "Show me."

She knew how to gently stroke her hand over his shaft, but he knew for a fact she'd never done what she had in her mind to try next and that she'd need him to guide her, even if she couldn't bring herself to ask yet. The idea of showing her how to wrap her pretty lips around his cock and suck him off was yet another in a long line of heated images filling his mind now when it came to Beth Greene.

Inexperienced as she was, Beth never backed down from his challenges. She didn't even hesitate, at least not for more than a second. He watched, riveted to the sight of her leaning over him to press a soft kiss to the head of his cock. "Just like that," he murmured, his voice thick with need. "Use your hand, Beth. Stroke over my cock, pull the foreskin down... Fuck, just like that." He'd never felt anything in his damn life as good as her fingers stroking down his shaft, but it was surpassed a second later by her lips wrapping around his cock, and the heat of her sweet little mouth covering the head of it as she gave a gentle little hum and tasted him for the first time.

"_Good girl_..." As always the words made her moan and spurred her on, coaxing her to flick her tongue out and swirl it around him until it was all he could do to stop his hips from bucking up and startling her.

Beth pulled back to catch her breath, licking her lips before she breathed out, "You like that, Mr. Dixon?"

His hips stilled as he studied her, and he felt her pause too, sensing the shift in his focus. He found himself wondering if she'd switched to 'Mr. Dixon' because of how he'd flinched at the other nickname earlier, and he was surprised to realize he wished she hadn't. Not cause 'Mr. Dixon' wasn't kinda hot (it was, even it made him feel old), but it didn't have the same sweet sexiness, the same resonance that he'd felt when she'd called him _baby_ (like she'd wanted him to be hers).

Before he could stop himself, he ground out in a ragged, unsure voice, "You can call me the other thing. If you want." His awkwardness was in sharp contrast to the heat of the moment, but rather than falter he saw a softness in Beth's eyes. It should scare him, hell it did a little, but as always she knew just how to move them past that. She just she stroked her hand slowly up and down his shaft, and when she whispered, "_Yes, baby_," all he could do was shudder and buck his hips into her touch again.

Daryl's control was tenuous, and for the first time the power seemed shared between them. He was the one guiding her with rough whispered words, but she was the one making him shudder with the tease of her tongue up the length of his shaft, or the hum of her lips vibrating right to the base of his cock as she wrapped her lips around him again. Then she shifted and began to slide him into her mouth, letting him glide heavily over her tongue to be surrounded by all that wet heat, and he had to clutch at the sheets beneath them to stop himself from jolting his hips up.

It was too damn good and he knew it was because it's her. He'd had blowjobs before; messy and quick, even a few slower and more experienced, but ain't nothing ever felt as good as Beth's mouth did easing over him for the first time. It was obvious she had never done this before, but it was just as obvious how badly she wanted to make him feel good. When he felt her flutter her tongue against the underside of his cock, Daryl just groaned and reached to curl his fingers into her hair as if he needed the anchor.

It was for him as much as her. He used his grip to guide her as he murmured thickly, "Just work your mouth over it like that. Bob your head up and down and... _Fuck_, yes, Beth." He half-moaned her name and didn't fail to notice the way she tightened her lips around him and moaned in response, sending those damn perfect vibrations right through him again and nearly coaxing another curse to his lips. It was taking all his self control not to be too loud, not to groan and growl the way she was making him want to.

Especially when she took his advice and began to bob her head, taking him inch by inch deeper into her mouth and working up a slow, steady rhythm. Her free hand curled around the base of his cock to cover the few inches she couldn't fit in her mouth, and he felt her stroke over it in rhythm with her mouth. Though she hesitated and stuttered at first, with each stroke he could feel her getting the hang of it, finding a smooth rhythm as she worked her mouth over his cock.

The best part was knowing she enjoyed it. Cause lord, feeling her moaning around his length and watching her press her thighs together as she shifted above him was somehow almost hotter than the actual feeling of her sucking his cock. Her mouth on him was incredible; knowing it was getting her off as much as it was him took it to a whole other level.

He tried his best to hold back, but he could only take so much of something that felt so damn good. Soon his hips were stuttering, faintly pressing up so his length would slide deeper into her mouth. Each time she would hum around him and he'd groan, and his fingers would curl tighter in her hair. It didn't take long till he felt that tension coiling low inside of him, bringing with it that faint sensation of _so close, so close_.

"Beth-" He gasped out her name in warning, wanting to give her time to pull back if that was what she wanted. "I'm gonna- _fuck_-" His whole body went tense, his hips tightened and pressed up, and then that coiling tension within him snapped and to his shock, she didn't pull back. He spilled into her mouth, over her tongue and down her throat as she kept her lips wrapped around him, and the sight of it had him moaning, "_Beth_..."

He'd never said her name like that before. He was pretty sure he'd never said _anyone's_ name like that before. As the climax rushed through his body and made his cock jerk in her mouth, he felt his hand smooth out in her hair to cup the side of her face, thumb brushing over her skin as she swallowed every last drop of his release.

His head fell back to the bed as he breathed out a groan, but he never took his eyes off her. He watched as she finally pulled back to look down at him. He drank in the sight of her licking her lips and tucking him gently back into his pants. He watched and softly sighed when she fished her shorts up off the ground and slid them back on before tugging her shirt back down over her skin.

But it was relief that made him relax as she climbed back up the bed and curled up against him instead of leaving. She laid down half on his chest, her leg curled over his as she nuzzled her cheek against his chest again.

"Baby, huh?" He hadn't meant to bring it up, but of course the moment he opened his mouth it came tumbling out. Something about coming always made him so damn loose, made him lose some of his usual filters.

Beth seemed to know not to look up at him, to just stay casual tucked against him and tracing shapes over his chest as she murmured, "Only if you want."

Only if he wanted it. And did he? Daryl closed his eyes for a moment, and let himself get lulled by the brush of her fingers against his chest even as the memories drifted over him.

_Wrapped around your fingers, baby brother_. His mental image of Merle shook it's head, and then faded as an echo of his past slipped into his place; a melodic voice slurred by liquor: _Give Mama that glass, baby boy. That's my boy._ He shuddered, and felt Beth's fingers hesitate but they didn't stop, and as she began to trace circles over his shirt he heard her voice in his head instead: _You like that, baby?_

In Daryl's mind, the knowledge comes easily almost to the tip of his lips: Yes. Lord, yes.

His eyes fluttered open to look down at her, so sweet and innocent and yet _not_, given what they'd just done and the images in his head of the pleasure on her face when she'd come undone, or the way she'd looked with her lips wrapped around his cock. Those images were good, but they were just a drop in the bucket of the memories he had of her; smiling at him from across the cellblock, coming to his cell to take care of his wounds when no one else seemed to even notice he'd been injured, the deep blue of her eyes that day in her cell when he'd come to tell her about Zach and she'd asked _him_ if he was okay.

(Baby? _Only if you want_.)

He kinda really did.

"I guess it ain't so bad," he murmured as he reached down and tugged the sheet carefully up and over both their bodies. "Sometimes." When she looked up at him with a little smile, he met it as best he could. "But don't go gettin' any ideas about other nicknames, okay?"

Her giggle loosened the tiny knot of tension that had taken up residence in his chest with the memory of his brother and his mother's echoing voices. "You mean you _don't_ want to be called sweetheart?" He frowned, even as she went on in a silly voice, "Teddy bear? Sugar? Hot stuff?"

"_Girl_." He growled the word but there was a playful bite to it echoed in the hint of a smile on his lips as he tucked her close to his chest.

"Ooh, how about Snuggle Bear? You don't like _that_? Aww, come on!"

Daryl just shook his head and blew out the candle next to his bed, before letting his eyes flutter shut. "Go to sleep," he said firmly, even as she giggled softly to herself and cuddled up to him.

He didn't much mind a few seconds later though, when her sweet whispered voice broke the silence to murmur, "Goodnight, baby..."

Daryl just sighed and splayed his hand against her back, and murmured back, "Goodnight, Beth."

****A/N: Two more chapters to go. I wonder what they'll do next chapter. Wink wink. (Also I hope you enjoyed this, I was a little unsure about all the non-smut stuff, especially Daryl's thought processes, so I hope it worked out.)**


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